BY ABBY TORALBA
JHARMAINE Lecciones and defending champion San Beda waylaid La Salle Green Hills 83-77 yesterday to clinch the No. 2 slot in the Final Four of the 98th NCAA juniors’ basketball tournament at the San Andres Sports Complex.
The Red Cubs have climbed their way up in the playoffs ladder to gain the upper hand in the semis, thanks to Lecciones, who tallied 25 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
John Lopez scored 16 markers for the Mendiola-based squad, while Chris Hubilla produced a double-double outing of 15 markers and 19 rebounds.
“Sobrang puso lang, iyon nga lagi kong sinasabi sa kanila puso ang nagdala sa amin dito, puso lang iyong nagpapanalo sa game na ito,” San Beda coach Miko Roldan said. “Unang-una, we wanted to get the twice-to-beat advantage, kaya sobrang do-or-die sa amin.
“Hindi na namin iniisip iyong ibang game so ngayon nakuha na namin so one game at a time lang kami so we just want to win one more game against them (LSGH) so we can secure the finals. We’ll just worry about the finals later on,” he shared.
With the victory, the Red Cubs seized the second seed, while the Greenies will be the third-ranked crew in the Last Four duel.
Their collision also served as a semis preview as they will face each other anew on Monday at 2:30 p.m. at the same venue.
Seven Gagate paced the Greenies with double-double performance of 21 markers and 16 caroms, while Manuel Pablo contributed 14 points and 16 boards.
No. 1 Letran, also armed with a win-once bonus, will clash with four-ranked Mapua University.
In case there will be a knockout semis, it will be held next Thursday, March 9 at the same venue.
